McEnroe top seed for Wimbledon

Press, 16 June 1982, Page 48

McEnroe top seed for Wimbledon

NZPA-Reuter London

The titleholder, John McEnroe, and Martina Navratilova, the women’s winner in 1978 and 1979, were yesterday made the top singles seeds for the Wimbledon tennis championships which begin on Monday. The championships’ committee has followed the computer rankings in drawing up the seeding lists, so Jimmy Connors — who beat his arch-rival McEnrob at Queen’s Club on Monday — and the women’s champion Chris Evert-Lloyd have to be content with the number two positions. Vitas Gerulaitis, a semifinalist in both 1977 and 1978, is ranked third among the men and Sandy. Mayer fourth, giving the United States the top four seeded positions. Strict adherence to the computer and the absence this year of Bjorn. Borg, Ivan Lendl, Guillermo Vilas, Jose Luis Clerc and Eliot Teltscher also allows the comparatively inexperienced grass court players Mats Wilander and Andres Gomez to be seeded for the first time.

Wilander, the 17-year-old Swede, who caused an upset when he won the French hard court title recently, is seeded seventh while Ecuador’s Gomez, who took the Italian championship, is two places lower. Americans also dominate the women’s seedings, with

Tracy Austin and Andrea Jaeger, the runnef-up in the French championship, rated third and fourth. Miss Navratilova, who has lost only once this year, was moved up to the number one position in the computer ranking only yesterday. She is hoping for a semifinal clash with 17-year-old Miss Jaeger, who accused her of unsporting behaviour by accepting sideline coaching during her French championship final.. Hana Mandlikova, the young Czechoslovak,, who was runner-up at Wimbledon last year, is seeded only fifth, while the former champions Billie Jean King and Evonne Cawley are twelfth and sixteenth respectively. Mrs Cawley, who has played little since the birth of her second child last sum,mer, prevents 15-year-old Kathy Rinaldi — the world number 16 — becoming the youngest player to be seeded in the championship’s history.

The women’s tennis association requested that the Australian veteran take the last place in the seeding list despite Miss Rinaldi’s higher computer ranking. In Bristol, New Zealand's Russell Simpson won his first round match in the preWimbledpn Bristol tennis grand prix yesterday.

He beat the South African Bernie Mitton easily in the first set 6-1, but had more of a struggle to take the second 7-5.